Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
A robot can automatically map a space, such as the interior of part or all of a building and/or its surrounding outdoor regions, to help estimate the robot's position within the space. In some embodiments, a mapping algorithm, such as the SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithm, can be used by the robot to compute a metric map of the space. The metric map can indicate positions of objects in the space and, in some cases, can look like a floor plan. Once generated, the metric map can be used by the robot for navigation within the mapped space.
One example of a building is a warehouse, which may be used for storage of goods by a variety of different types of commercial entities, including manufacturers, wholesalers, and transport businesses. Example stored goods may include raw materials, parts or components, packing materials, and finished products. In some cases, the warehouse may be equipped with loading docks to allow goods to be loaded onto and unloaded from delivery trucks or other types of vehicles. The warehouse may also use rows of pallet racks to allow for storages of pallets, flat transport structures that contain stacks of boxes or other objects. Additionally, the warehouse may use machines or vehicles for lifting and moving goods or pallets of goods, such as cranes and forklifts. Human operators may be employed to operate machines, vehicles, and other equipment. In some cases, one or more of the machines or vehicles may be robotic devices guided by computer control systems.